how do i remove these pullies. i am trying to remove the spindles so i can sandblast and paint the deck. i already broke 1 pulley and i dont want to break the other 2. also are these still dealer available parts or do i have to find a used pulley? it's an outer pulley that i broke

Hard to find. Be careful. The split hubs get backed off by removing the 1/4-20 bolts and moving them to the next set of holes. When they bottom out, they lift the inner hub. In theory. The outer pulley (sheave) hubs are unique to the C-3 and they are obsolete. The center hub I was able to buy from McMaster Carr. The outer sheaves (pulley) are available NOS but at $108!

there is some weird cob job stuff going on with them. the one pulley, someone actually has the bolts going through the bottom of the pulley. why this is, i have no idea. i bought another pulley to replace the busted pulley, lol, i just looked and the ebay seller was Hamilton bob, what a coincidence, thanks for making it available and at a good price. do you make these new? are they aftermarket reproductions or is it just an original part that has been sandblasted? now i had a question, since these things arent even installed right, what is it going to take to remove them? without damaging the other two pullie? i dont really want to replace all 3. can i use a harmonic ballence puller or can i use really long 1/4-20 bolts that go all the way though the pulley and pushes directly on the spindle forcing them off?

if you use a harmonic balancer puller you will break every part. It is a sheave and hub design. Tapered split hub pulls up into the sheave, also tapered, to lock it in place at the height you choose. The hub is piulled up into the sheave by 1/4-20 bolts. There are complementary holes in the sheave that the bolts get threaded into to put pressure on the hub and gently push it out of the sheave. Suggest you google it to find diagrams and instructions

There is a parts breakdown in RC1 Rotary Cutters. The pdf is available in (new) manuals above and look for the C-3 section in bookmarks. There is also a C-3 operators manual in the Cub attachments section that has very specific instructions on setting up the pulleys. I suggest you read it before doing any more work.

i got the other outer pulley removed, i was able to get a large chisel in between the hub and the pulley, and i drove them apart. once i got the pulley off of the hub removing the center hub was fairly easy.. now im trying to remove the center pulley. the problem i am having is that i already broke 2 bolts bolts off in that 2nd set of holes. the problem with a 1/4 fastener is that it will only take so much abuse. they were brand new unused grade 8 bolts. i put them in the other holes, but i already snapped two of them. i tried heating with a hand held torch and that didnt do much either. i must say i'm not a big fan of this setup. brittle cast iron pulley and small 1/4 bolts to remove the pulley from the hub. they are not easy to take apart. i have owned a couple IH cub cadets and those pulleys come off easy.

ad356 wrote:i got the other outer pulley removed, i was able to get a large chisel in between the hub and the pulley, and i drove them apart. once i got the pulley off of the hub removing the center hub was fairly easy.. now im trying to remove the center pulley. the problem i am having is that i already broke 2 bolts bolts off in that 2nd set of holes. the problem with a 1/4 fastener is that it will only take so much abuse. they were brand new unused grade 8 bolts. i put them in the other holes, but i already snapped two of them. i tried heating with a hand held torch and that didnt do much either. i must say i'm not a big fan of this setup. brittle cast iron pulley and small 1/4 bolts to remove the pulley from the hub. they are not easy to take apart. i have owned a couple IH cub cadets and those pulleys come off easy.

Remember, these pulleys probably haven't moved,in 50 years. If the pulley is soaked with penetrating oil, and heated, it probably will come off.. These things can take some time and frustration, to get apart. Ed

These can be horribly difficult to remove, as you have found. You need some judicious use of hammer and drift to help you out too. Grade 8's or even 9's are the first place to start, then you will need to grease/oil the landing point of the screw to reduce friction and lastly, load them up and whack them with either a spreader drift (like the chisel you used) or vertically catching the gap between the 2 parts. On the center pulley, you need to get down past the hub and get the whack delivered to the pulley - think pipe ground to fit between the two parts. Take your time and don't get too aggressive with the hammer. Unload them(loosen bolts) then reload and repeat the whacks. Those vibrations tend to help shake the sheave loose. It can take 100 whacks or more to get them to moving. I wailed on a PTO pulley, which is the same patent, with a 2 lb hand sledge and drift right at the center of the hub. I hit it so hard I was sure it would break, but my IH tech assured me that was what it would take and after about 15 minutes it almost fell off.

When you put it back together, don't just pull the bolts down and go. It takes about 10 rounds of torque and retorque back and forth on the bolts to get everything to seat and get tight. I did about 4 rounds, thought it had stopped moving, and in about 30 seconds of mowing, the pulley started walking off the shaft.

I've never tried heat on those before, but you may try the blue wrench on it.....the pulley is cast, so you shouldn't have an issue drawing any HT out of the part.

I have never seen a tapered hub with a set screw in the side. I would never have thought to check for a set screw. I wonder if this is a unique owner modification or whether it is one done by a manufacturer.

Has anyone successfully used a bearing separator on a stubborn tapered hub?